Step by Step Miniature Wildlife Painting

"Tiny Treasures of the Natural World"

by Wes & Rachelle Siegrist

MINIATURE PAINTINGS: African Birds Birds of Prey Butterflies Florals Gamebirds Landscapes Mammals Portraits Reptiles Songbirds Larger\|Older Reproductions HIGHLIGHTS: Biography Exhibits Statements Resumes Galleries Publications Newsletters History Awards Framing Sitemap CONTACT: Order Testimonials siegrist@artofwildlife.com	Rachelle's "The Angel and her Duckie" rendered in watercolor on Cresent watercolor board. This painting is a traditional one-sixth scale miniature painting which was commissioned by a collector as a surprise Christmas gift.
	Rachelle started the painting with the tile in the background.	Initial washes of color are applied much in the manner of a traditional transparent watercolor painting as she starts to develop the skin tones on the child.
	Skin tones are built up by adding more layers of color. At this time she has pushed the darks and lights in the image to establish the painting's values.	Facial features are slowly created with deft brushwork. Working so small leaves little room for error. At this point Rachelle is concentrating on capturing the likeness of the subject.
	Rachelle continues to refine various aspects of the painting. Values are adjusted in some areas while adding detail into others. Once she feels the likeness has been captured she'll add all the tiny highlights and water droplets.	An excited and cooperative Grandpa corresponded with Rachelle as she drew close to completing the work. With the help of his keen eye and the aid of our computer to compare the painting with the reference photos each detail was completed. This was the first time we had used the computer photo editing software to compare images. Seeing the painting so enlarged was quite helpful. Almost all of our reference photos are larger than the finished paintings.
	An enlarged view of the painting showing Rachelle's brushwork.